In a world where magic is punishable by death, seventeen-year-old Allyria Pilar faces execution for saving a girl accused of witchcraft. Her only escape? A blood oath to the Death Dealer of Redbone, the king's most feared contract killer. Forced to bind herself to him or die in the prison of Redvine, Allyria's fate takes a dangerous turn.

Thrust into a brutal realm where survival hinges on combat, Allyria is torn from her home and trained under Cassius, the enigmatic Captain of the Death Dealer's immortal guard. Her goal: to win the deadly Elder Tournaments, a series of brutal trials that pit the most powerful fighters against each other, and earn her freedom.

But when the murder of a fae prince pushes the world to the brink of war, Allyria and the Death Dealer must join forces in a desperate bid to save their world—both human and immortal. As the stakes rise and the lines between duty and destiny blur, Allyria must navigate a war-torn land, confront her growing feelings for the Death Dealer, and decide where her true loyalties lie.

Can Allyria rise to become the hero her world needs, or will she let it plunge into eternal night?